Trained by the Made in Holywood Academy at the north Dublin club, where his former coach Geoff Loughrey bases his teachings on the same tenets he learned under McIlroy’s coach Michael Bannon, Keeling made 17 pars in a row before rolling a 15-footer in near darkness on the 18th for a birdie to share 20th place on one-under.
It was one of only two bogey-free rounds carded on a day when McIlroy appeared to have saved what looked like it would be a forgettable opening round for the Irish contingent when he birdied the last three holes to shoot a three-under 68 to share fourth place behind England’s Todd Clements, whose five-under 66 gave him a one-shot lead over the Finn Sami Valimaki and Spain’s Alejandro del Rey.
Shane Lowry also birdied the last to shoot a 72 that left him tied for 51st, with Royal Dublin amateur Max Kennedy and Portmarnock’s Conor Purcell.
But it was Keeling, now at Texas Tech, where Ludvig Aberg was a star graduate, who stole the show late in the day.
“I’m happy enough,” said the Dubliner, who had to hit provisional balls off the tee at the first and second but made par both times en route to a hugely impressive debut, justifying the hype surrounding a player regarded as the next McIlroy.
“I had to stay patient on the back nine, waited for my birdie on the last. I’m happy enough with a bogey-free round there. I will take it. The first two holes could have been bogeys or worse, but I ended up making two good pars, and from there, I played pretty solid and hit plenty of greens the whole way around.
“I told myself before I went out, ‘if you lose your patience around here, you’re in trouble’. So you’ve got to have a good attitude and just be resilient. You’ll have bad shots or mistakes; it’s just how you deal with them.”
He’s clearly not here to make up the numbers, and while a repeat of Lowry’s 2009 win at Baltray looks unthinkable, Keeling is backing himself.
“It is a dream come true really,” he said of his debut. “I’ve been coming to this tournament for the last six, seven years and to be playing in it is amazing.”
As for his ambitions, he said: “Make the cut, try and get a good run on the weekend and you never know. Why not give myself a chance to win?”
He joined Purcell and Kennedy for a practice round with Pádraig Harrington earlier this week and came away with one piece of advice.
“One thing that stuck was just be patient and be resilient. You’re going to have ups and downs in this game, so it’s just how you come back from that,” he said.
“One thing he said as well was that consistency is over-rated. You’re better off winning than just making cuts or finishing top 10. You’re remembered for your wins.”
Resilience was key on a day when a cool north-west wind gusting occasionally to 40kmh made the Newcastle links a Major-like test at times, and McIlroy was pleased to get off to a good start.
“Anytime you can shoot three-under around this place, I think you have to be happy,” said the world No 3, who was two-under through 12 holes before he bounced back from bogeys at the 14th and 15th with three superb birdies to finish.
“The conditions were pretty tough early on, and then the wind seemed to settle a little bit over those last few holes.
“So it was nice to take advantage of that and play the last three holes the way I did.”
Lowry fed into his Major mindset after he bogeyed the second and had his first three-putt for 361 holes at the third to find himself two-over.
But after making a great up-and-down from left of the fourth, he made another at the fifth and was off and running.
“I think a really good up-and-down there [on the fourth] helped me a lot and kind of gave me a kick in the backside I needed,” said Lowry, who birdied the ninth and followed a bogey at the par-five 12th with a stellar four at the last.
In the past, he might have struggled after such a slow start, but he’s playing so well and has so much experience that he didn’t panic.
“It’s easier when you’re having a good year to get off to a start like that and come back from,” he said.
“It just is easier. I did that pretty well today. Maybe I am changing. Who knows?”
As for Kennedy, he too was grateful to Harrington for his advice.
“He’s a great man!” Kennedy said. “We had a very good time, and he was really helpful and gave loads of tips. Hard to get him to stop when he starts!
“He gave some good life advice. Keep at it, don’t give up, keep trying to get better every day and don’t compare yourself to others who may be in a different situation. It was really that simple.”
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